2011 年 6 月 16 日 星期四 【晴】

雖然畫得不漂亮

但很享受當中的過程

而且也喜歡 'meditation 貓' 的概念

很明顯有待大改進

From Jun 18, 2011

>>June 18, 2011 at 6:08:28 AM GMT+8

2011 年 6 月 15 日 星期三 【晴】

我總覺得聖經上所說阿當夏娃所吃下的知識樹禁果

是比如一所 '分別心'

這個知識樹的果子會讓人產生分別心

喜歡的

不喜歡的

無所謂喜歡不喜歡的

愛的

恨的

不愛不恨的

聖經說因他倆吃了果子而犯了罪

我認為他們的所謂犯罪

是中了果子裡的 '分別心毒'

所以變得不再快樂

今天看到 joyful wisdom 一書內有關心如鳥

分別心如樹枝一比喻

覺得兩者也在說著相同的事情

如果下次再畫畫

會希望畫一幅分別心的樹


(quoted from 'Joyful Wisdom' pp. 143-145)

"Left to its own, the mind is like a restless bird, always flitting from branch to branch or sweeping down from a tree to the ground and then flitting up into another tree. In this analogy, the branches, the ground, and the other tree represent the demands we receive from our five senses, as well as thoughts and emotions.
They all seem very interesting and powerfully attractive. And since there's always something going on in and around us, it's very hard for the poor restless bird to settle. No wonder so many of the people I meet complain of being stressed most of the time! This kind of flitting about while our senses are overloaded and our thoughts and emotions are demanding recognition makes it very hard to stay relaxed and focused.

The first of the basic practices to which I was introduced as a child-which most teachers introduce to beginning students- involves allowing the little bird to settle.

.....Most of us, when we look at something, hear something, or watch a thought or emotion, have some sort of judgement about the experience. This judgement can be understood in terms of three basic "branches": the "I like it" branch, the "I don't like it" branch, or the "I don't know" branch. Each of these branches spread out into smaller branches: "good" branch; "bad" branch; "pleasant" branch; "unpleasant" branch; "I like it because..." branch; "I don't like it because..." branch; "could be good or bad" branch; "could be nice or not" branch; "could be good and bad, pleasant and unpleasant" branch; and the "neither good nor bad, pleasant nor unpleasant" branch. The possibilities represented by all these branches tempt the little bird to flutter between them, investigating each one.

The practice of shamatha or shinay involves letting go of our judgments and opinions and just looking at, or pay attention to, what we see from whatever branch we're sitting on. May be we'll see a screen of branches and leaves. But instead of flitting from branch to branch to get a better view, just look at each branch or leaf, paying attention to its shape or colour. Rest there on one branch. Attending to our experience in this way allows us to distinguish our judgments and opinions from the simple experience of seeing.

This practice has profound implications for the way we approach difficult emotions and the various problems we encounter in daily life. In most cases our experiences are conditioned by the branch we're sitting on and the screen of branches before us. But if we just look at our experience directly, we could see each branch and leave as it is, and our opinions and judgments as they are - not all mixed up together, but as distinct aspects of experience. IN that moment of pausing to just be aware, we open ourselves not only to the possibility of bypassing habitual ideas, emotions, and responses to physical sensation, but also to responding freshly to each experience as it occurs.

This simple awareness is an expression of the clarity of our buddha nature: the capacity to see and to recognize that we're seeing, but without any concepts attached or clouding our vision. We can recognize the concepts of "I like," "I don't like," and so on, as distinct from branches, leaves, or flowers. Because clarity is unlimited, we can hold all these different things at once without mixing them up. Actually, clarity is always functioning, even when we're not consciously attentive to it: when we become aware of being hungry or tired, when we recognize a traffic jam, or distinguish a chili pepper from a package of cheese. Without clarity, we wouldn't be able to think, feel, or perceive anything."

>>June 18, 2011 at 5:57:52 AM GMT+8

2011 年 6 月 14 日 星期二 【晴】

my new favourite quote

"Simply put, the cause of the various disease we experience is the cure. The mind that grasps is the mind that sets us free."--- Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche, Joyful Wisdom, pp. 96

我們生病的時候, 比如說嘔, 其實身體希望把毒素排出體外, 所以其實嘔本身是一個療愈過程. 我們該謝謝我們身體有"嘔" 這個功能, 對它感恩, 而不是像傳統西醫般盲目認為嘔就是不好, 是敵人, 而吃止嘔藥來把 "嘔" 趕走.

痾, 發燒, 失眠, 腰骨痛, 胃氣等亦復如是

當然

重要的是中度

盲目的認為嘔就是好也並非上策

當嘔得太顛的時候

你得調節嘔的密度

或吃一些比較清淡的東西來配合身體

幫助身體在最 optimum 的情況下

透過嘔把毒素排出

傳統西醫

多為 "對抗療法'

很多時忘記了 '中道' 的道理

忘記了一顆感恩的心

它們就像戴上了一副有色眼鏡

把所有 signs and symptoms 都看成敵人了

其實這些 signs and symptoms 很可能是為我們好的

都是為我們的 survival 而出現的

>>June 16, 2011 at 5:40:47 AM GMT+8

2011 年 6 月 13 日 星期一 【晴】

無論看甚麼東西

越來越喜歡看其 underlying law of nature

最近很喜歡 Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche 的書

他的 "Joyful Wisdom"

非常藉得推介

可能加上本身在日常生活中也有修習

所以獲得很多 inspirations

thank you!!!

記下所喜歡的:

"....Suffering - or dukkha-.....is best understood as a pervasive feeling that 'something isn't quite right': that life could be better if circumstances were different; that we'd be happier if we were younger thinner, or richer, in a relationship or out of a relationship. This list of miseries goes on and on. Dukkha thus embraces the entire spectrum of conditions, ranging from something as simple as an itch to more traumatic experiences of chronic pain or mortal illness." (quoted from 'Joyful Wisdom', pp. 40)

"The suffering of change....the dissatisfaction or disenchantment experienced when the novelty wears off or the situation starts to fall apart is actually the Suffering of Suffering. The Suffering of Change stems, more accurately 'from the attachment to the pleasure derived from getting what we want: be it a relationship, a job, a good grade on an exam, or a shiny new car.

Unfortunately, the pleasure derived from external sources is, by nature, temporary. Once it wears off, the return to our "normal" state seems less bearable by comparison. So we seek it again, may be in another relationship, another job, or another object. Again and again, we seek pleasure, comfort, or relief in objects and situations that can't possibly fulfill our high hopes and expectations.

The Suffering of Change, then, could be understood as a type of addiction, a never-ending search for a lasting "high" that is just out of reach....over time, our brains and our bodies are motivated to repeat the activities that stimulate the production of dopamine. We literally get hooked on anticipation.

Tibetan Buddhist texts liken this type of addictive behaviour to "licking honey off a razor." The initial sensation may be sweet, but the underlying effect is quite damaging. Seeking satisfaction in others or in external objects or events reinforces a deep and often unacknowledged belief that we, as we are, are not entirely complete; that we need something beyond ourselves in order to experience a sense of wholeness or security or stability. The Suffering of Change is perhaps best summed up as a conditional view of ourselves. "I'm fine as long as I have this or that going for me. My job is demanding, but at least I have a great relationship (or my health or my looks or a wonderful family)." (quoted from 'Joyful Wisdom', pp. 53-54)

"Dukkha arises from a basic mental condition referred to in Pali as tanha, or "craving." The student who translated the early Pali transcripts into Sanskrit defined the cause (of suffering) ....as "thirst". When the teachings were brought to Tibet, the cause translated as dzinpa, or "grasping."....each of these three terms reflects a fundamental yearning for permanence or stability - or, looked at in another way, an attempt to deny or ignore impermanence....The three poisons (ignorance, craving, aversion) and all the other mental and emotional habits that arise from them are not in themselves the causes of suffering. Rather, suffering arises from 'attachment' to them.....the Tibetan word dzinpa....is often interpreted as "grasping", but I've also heard it translated as "fixation,", which I think captures more closely....Dzinpa is an attempt to rfix in time and place that which is constantly moving and changing.

....The intensity of suffering caused by strong attachment to a set of beliefs or perceptions was vividly demonstrated to me through an encounter with an elderly woman.....she said, "I don't want to be old. When I look in the mirror, I see all these wrinkles and I hate them....I get so angry and depressed...."

.....I was a little surprised by her outburst. My grandmother had had a lot of wrinkles, but I thought they made her face all the more beautiful....I didn't say this directly, of course. When someone is experiencing pain, probably the worse thing we can do is say something like, "Well, that's just your perception. Change your perception and your experience will change." If one of my teachers had said anything like that to me when I was bound up in my own anxiety and fear, I don't think it would have made any sense to me and I might have ended up feeling more alone and bewildered than I already felt....

......I'm grateful to my father and my other teachers for taking me through this process. They urged me to just look at what I was experiencing - and to comprehend through simply looking that thoughts, emotions, judgments, and sensations come and go.....I told her, "....think about the things that you can do now that you couldn't do when you were young. Think of the perspective your experience has brought you....."

....A year later....she came for another visit...."I realized after our talk", she explained, "that time wasn't my enemy; age wasn't my enemy. My own fixation was my enemy. When I looked in the mirror, all I saw was that I thought other people were seeing - an old woman, unattractive and useless. And I started acting that way too, so of course people started treating me as old and useless. It became a vicious cycle.

"But when I started thinking about the experience I'd gained...I actually started feeling a little proud of my wrinkles. Each one was like a badge of honor, a crisis survived, a test passed." (quoted from 'Joyful Wisdom', pp. 70 - 76)

"One of the questions I'm asked most frequently....is, "How can I get rid of attachment? How can I get rid of hope and fear?"

The simple answer is, "By not trying."

Why?

Because when we try to get rid of something, we're really just reinforcing hope and fear. If we treat some condition, feeling, sensation, or any other type of experience as an enemy, we only make it stronger: We're resisting and succumbing to it at the same time. The middle way proposed by the Buddha begins by simply looking at whatever it is we're thinking or feeling: I'm angry. I'm jealous. I'm tired. I'm afraid.

As we look, gradually we'll come to notice that thoughts and feelings aren't as fixed or solid as they originally appeared. Impermanence has its advantages. All things change - even our hopes and fears." (quoted from 'Joyful Wisdom', pp. 80-81)

對於上述方法, 我親身試過並覺得很有效. 我從來也是一個愛情精, 對於遇不到一個結婚的人, 很多時候也會徬徨, 會覺得我 incomplete.

起初會被這 '渴望愛情' 的感覺 overwhelm, 不停問卜

到後來覺得這樣也不是辦法

於是對這個 '渴望愛情' 的感覺產生 aversion

希望自己不會覺得 incomplete

希望自己不一定要有愛情才感覺幸福

但原來這兩個方法也不湊效

overwhelming nor aversion (run away from it)

真的如佛所教的

去觀察它

去感受它

接受當下所經驗的

我現在'渴望愛情'

我現在覺得徬徨

我現在覺得寂寞

我現在不開心

然後留意這個 mind and emotions 所帶來的 body sensation

我覺得透不過氣

我覺得心有東西壓著

觀察著觀察著

你會發現你的 mind, emotions, body sensations 在不斷變化

而你當下的不快也會變化

當你活在當下時

慢慢會發現有一股喜悅從內心深處慢慢滲出來

但這股喜悅必須從客觀面對不愉悅的 mind, emotions 和 body sensation 開始

當中需要無比勇氣

面對自己軟弱的一面

面對自己 self ego 的一面

面對自己 self ego shattered 的一面

但一直走, 一直走

這方法所給我的喜悅和快樂

是難以形容的

當中的甜美, 快樂, 平安, 喜悅, 感恩, 安穩, 澄明

是從沒感受過的

從沒感受過

這樣 deep 的 happiness


最近哭的次數多了

但多是喜極而泣

feeling grateful

thank you vipassana

and thank you buddha

may the real technique grow and more and more people get benefit from it

老師 S.N. Goenkaji 曾說

this technique has been practiced regardless of one's religions,

jews, muslim, catholic, christian, buddhists, jains

all have come, joined the course and get benefit from it

it is an old technique that is not invented by Buddha

the Buddha only rediscover this ancient technique ( I think it's like he go hiking, and suddenly discover a path which hasn't been walked by people for a long time)

this old path has been walked by many saints before this Buddha

and he only rediscover this path

when the first three missionaries came for the ten day course

one of the old lady, 'mother superior', said:

S.N. Goenka, you are teaching Christianity in the name of Buddha!

teacher says he is teaching dhamma, the law of nature

it is for all and non sectarian

christian or buddhist make no difference

same as the anger

there is no difference between christian anger and buddhist anger

anger is anger

therefore the solution should be universal

may more people learn this solution and live a happy life

:D

www.dhamma.org

>>June 14, 2011 at 3:26:13 PM GMT+8

2011 年 6 月 12 日 星期日 【晴】

為何我這麼容易對東西產生興趣

喜歡了 spinning!

:))))))

>>June 13, 2011 at 4:12:52 PM GMT+8

2011 年 6 月 11 日 星期六 【晴】

我讀的東西是 base on 以毒攻毒的概念

以很少量的毒 (稀到現在的科學還不能驗證這麼少的單位)

來醫治有相近症狀的人

今天讀其他 leisure 書

也發現同一道理

"....For instance, one morning while washing my hair, a little bit of water got trapped in my ear. I tried everything to get rid of it: wiping the inside of my ear with a towel, shaking my head, twisting little bits of tissue paper inside my ear. Nothing helped. When I told Saljay Rinpoche about it, he advised me to pour more water in my ear, then tip my head to let it all drain out. To my surprise, it worked!

This, Rinpoche explained, was an example of the principle, taught long ago by the Buddha, of using the problem as the antidote.Timidly, I asked if the same approach could be used to deal with thoughts and feelings. He looked at me quizzically, and soon I found myself pouring out the whole story of how anxious I'd been most of my life; the fear that sometimes attacked with such violence I could hardly breathe; how I'd tried to watch my mind in a friendly, nonjudgemental way as my father had taught me; my small success back in Nepal, where everything was familiar; and how all the old problems had resurfaced even more forcefully in this new, strange environment.

He listened until I ran out of words and then replied with the following story.

"Tibet," he said, "is full of long and lonely roads, especially in the mountains, where there aren't many towns or villages. Traveling is always dangerous, because there are almost always bandits hiding in caves or behind rocks along the sides of the road, waiting to jump out and attack even the most watchful travelers. But what can people do? To get from one place to another, they have to take these roads. They can travel in groups, of course, and if the groups are big enough, may be the bandits won't attack. But that doesn't always work, because the bandits will usually see an opportunity to steal more from a larger group. Sometimes people try to protect themselves by hiring bodyguards. But that doesn't work very well, either."

"Why not?" I asked.

He laughed. "The bandits are always more fierce and they have better weapons. Besides, if fighting breaks out, there's more of a chance that people will get hurt."

His eyes closed, his head drooped, and I thought maybe he'd fallen asleep. But before I could think of any way to wake him, he opened his eyes and continued.

"The clever travelers, when attacked by bandits, make a dealt with them. 'Why don't we hire you to be our bodyguards? We can pay you something now and more when we reach the end of our journey. That way, there won't be any fighting, no one will get hurt, and you'll get more from us than you would by simply robbing us on the trail. Less danger for you, because no one will come hunting you in the mountains, and less danger for us, because you're stronger and have better weapons than any bodyguards we could hire. And if you keep us safe along the road, we can recommend you to other people and soon you'll be earning more than you could ever hope to gain by robbing people. You could have a nice home, a place to raise a family. You wouldn't have to hide in caves, freezing in the winter and boiling in the summer. Everybody benefits."

He paused, waiting to see if I understood the lesson. My expression must have given away that I hadn't, so he continued.

"Your mind is the long and lonely road, and the all the problems you described are the bandits. Knowing that they're there, you're afraid to travel. Or you use mindfulness like a hired bodyguard, mixing it with hope and fear, thinking, 'If I watch my thoughts, they'll disappear." Either way, your problems have the upper hand. They'll always seem bigger and stronger than you are.

"A third choice is to be like a clever traveler and invite your problems to come with you. When you're afraid, don't try to fight the fear or run from it. Make a deal with it. 'Hey, fear, stick around. Be my bodyguard. Show me how big and strong you are.' If you do that often enough, eventually fear becomes just another part of your experience, something that comes and goes. You become comfortable with it, may be even come to rely on it as an opportunity to appreciate the power of your mind. Your mind must be very powerful to produce such big problem, yes?"

I nodded. It seemed logical.

"When you no longer resist a powerful emotion like fear," he continued, "you're free to channel the energy in a more constructive direction. When you hire your problems as bodyguards, they how you how powerful your mind is. Their very fierceness makes you aware of how strong you are."

(quoted from 'Joyful Wisdom', by Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche with Eric Swanson)

我喜歡實修的人

他們一般說話都很淺白

很容易理解

並多了一份鬆容

:)

thank you Rinpoche

>>June 12, 2011 at 3:51:30 PM GMT+8

2011 年 6 月 10 日 星期五 【晴】

原本今天跟奧運義工朋友坐 dhl balloon ride

但雷暴警告下沒有得坐

我們所以只吃了晚飯


近日多留意了身邊的花草樹木

從家人得知某些的名字

例如鳳凰木, 木棉, 雞蛋花等

跑步時乘車時看見他們

都覺得很漂亮

碰巧在圖書館看見一個有關香港樹木的講座

所以便報名參加

講座雖說是講香港樹木和保育

我以為會在 Intro 簡單介紹一下我們日常見到的香港樹木名字

豈料講者一開那個 ppt

席間的阿叔阿婆 (佔了 98% of the audience) 已能說出名字

他們對香港的樹木瞭如指掌

最後講座真的只講保育

所以得不到我想知道的東西

但也有意外收獲

就是有關 topping 的問題

長春社的講者說我們政府很多時在樹生得太高時會 '去頂'

但原來所砍的那個地方會做成一個大傷口

樹木為了保命

因此會在傷口附近生很多 '水橫枝' (這個 term 我非常陌生, 但當然在坐的公公婆婆早有認識)

由於 topping 我們會看不見傷口 (因在我們的頭頂)

這些橫枝會讓樹木看來很茂盛

但其實這只是假像

這些幼弱的枝的立足處是一個傷口

所以很多時也會因太弱而整個折斷

長春社說最近政府已經正式出指引說不能 topping

他說政府正視的原因

是因為社會有很多聲音

市民致電長春社

讓政府被迫正視這問題

他說若非市民的投訴

政府一般會把關於樹木的問題排得很後

最後他提醒各位

作為市民

不能完全把整個社會交給政府或 NGO

並鼓勵他們也要 take part in social issues

關心社區

這讓我想起了最近大埔區的警民合作計劃

警察告訴我們

他們不能無時無刻都無處不在

很多時也要依賴市民提高警覺和舉報

這些 mindset

都是我讀 m.phil 時有關 life politics 的 training

對

社會是由個體組成

要整個社會運作暢順

我們每一員也有其社會責任

may more people learn about this

and make our place a better place to live

有時候

我覺得關心社會的人其實人數也不少

但很多時候他們都會變成投訴

變得很激動 (當然我理解他們可能因為一些制度問題很谷氣)

但我深信 a balanced mind 會讓人生起智慧

想到更好的解決方法

不用下下也動氣


may all be happy and live in harmony :)

>>June 13, 2011 at 4:18:41 AM GMT+8

2011 年 6 月 9 日 星期四 【晴】

今天朋友 k 從澳洲回來

平日出去玩一般我也是 1:30am (最遲 2am ) 就會回家

但今晚我們連舞也沒跳

只是坐下 catch up

已談到零晨三時才離開

還破戒喝了酒

不過這個 cocktail: frangelico lime 真的很美味

hazelnut liquer 加 fresh lime

味道既特別且怡人

回家 goggle

發現原來來自 italy

實在繼我一試難忘的 limoncello (lemon liquer) 後又一力作

italy

如果我住在那裡

肯定戒不了酒...... -_-


另外 k 介紹的 hendrick's gin 也非常清新!

平常我一般也喜歡喝 gin tonic

但這個用 cucumber 和 bulgarian rose petals 所釀的 gin

實在清新得來又有花香味

喜歡死了~~~~

thank you KKKKKKKKKKKK

MUAH!

Frangelico lime (要 fresh lime, 不要 lime cordial 喔! )
http://www.cocktailsoftheworld.com/cocktails-overview/cocktails-by-country/italy/cocktail/frangelico-lime-soda.html

Hendrick's Gin Tonic
http://www.barnonedrinks.com/drinks/h/hendricks-gin-and-tonic-13388.html

>>June 13, 2011 at 4:21:50 AM GMT+8

2011 年 6 月 8 日 星期三 【晴】

努力趕功課

但總是去了 fb

如何戒掉 fb 癮

:S

>>June 9, 2011 at 2:45:28 PM GMT+8

2011 年 6 月 7 日 星期二 【晴】

看了 pirates of Caribbean

還是很喜歡 johnny depp

>>June 9, 2011 at 3:36:08 AM GMT+8